Restaurant: Le Petit Restaurant
Location: 13360 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA 91423. 818-501-7999
Date: May 27, 2013
Cuisine: French
Rating: Decent old fashioned fair
Le Petit Restaurant has been a Sherman Oaks fixture for decades, serving classic French flair with a bit of Moroccan influence.
The cosy interior.
2001 Domaine de la Janasse Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Parker 98. The spectacular 2001 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes is one of the monumental Chateauneuf du Papes of the vintage. A saturated plum/purple color reveals a thick, rich appearance. The wine combines freshness, power, elegance, and great intensity, all wrapped into a full-bodied, concentrated personality with phenomenal persistence on the palate. Remarkably pure, but neither over-done nor over-ripe, this spectacular, youthful Chateauneuf du Pape should hit its prime in 5-6 years, and last for two decades. It is a brilliant tour de force!
The bread comes with tapanade and marinated vegetables in the Moroccan style.
GODDESS SALAD. Organic baby mixed greens, jumbo shrimp, avocado, asparagus and ranch dressing.
GOAT CHEESE CROSTINI SALAD. Mixed greens, dried pears & balsamic vinaigrette.
BABY MIXED GREEN SALAD. With House vinaigrette dressing.
A special creme of zucchini soup.
SHRIMP PICANTE. Sautéed shrimp with bistro secret spices.
1994 Pavie-Macquin. Parker 91. The 1994 Pavie-Macquin is a backward, yet promising star of the vintage. The saturated ruby/purple color is followed by sweet aromas of black-cherries, licorice, and spice. The intense, sweet, rich, old vine flavors are well-displayed in this medium to full-bodied, tannic, impressively-endowed wine. One of the most backward wines of the vintage, it will require 4-6 years of cellaring, and is capable of lasting for 20+ years.
As I have reported previously, this biodynamically-farmed vineyard has some of the lowest yields in Bordeaux because of the extremely old age of the vines. This wine has come of age since the late eighties and is consistently one of the finest wines produced in St.-Emilion. In addition to its powerful, old style, it has another advantage – the presence of world-class oenologist Michel Rolland. The style is comparable to the intensely-concentrated, structured wines of the famous Pomerol estate, Lafleur.
SEAFOOD PAELLA DU BISTRO. Shrimp, wild jumbo scallops, black mussels, clams, calamari served with saffron rice. This was tasty, but loaded with cream, which isn’t typical of any paella I’ve had.
ANGEL HAIR PICANTE. With Sun dried tomatoes, fresh basil, roasted garlic and extra virgin olive oil. With shrimp.
The same, with chicken.
POTATO CRUSTED ATLANTIC SALMON. Served with asparagus, carrots and dill sauce.
ROASTED CHICKEN. Served with herbs de Provence, Pommes Frites and thyme sauce.
STEAK AU POIVRE. Filet mignon served with pommes frites and cognac peppercorn sauce.
BAKED LAMB SHANK. In a red wine vegetable sauce, served with couscous and carrots.
CHARBROILED NEW ZEALAND BABY LAMB CHOPS. Served with old fashion mustard sauce and Pommes Frites.
Pot Du Chocolate. Baked Chocolate Mousse Served Chilled.
Chocolate Fondant Cake. Dark Chocolate Cake, Rich Chocolate Fondant.
Souffle Au Chocolat. Served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Chocolate and Vanilla Sauce and Whipped Cream (15 min).
Ice creme and chocolate sauce.
Profiteroles. Vanilla Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce and almonds.
This is an old school place with 70s-80s style Bistro French blended with a bit of California and Moroccan style. This last elevated it from “tired” to “mildly interesting.” Dishes were a little uneven, with some quite tasty and a few staid. All in all, not a bad casual family place if you’re in the mood for something old fashioned.
